Closings

Severe Weather

Review: 'The Internship' forgets who's boss

By By Michelle Solomon, Contributing writer

Published On: Jun 07 2013 09:56:12 AM EDT

20th Century Fox

Stop me if you've heard this plot before. Two older losers change the lives of a bunch of younger losers by showing them that you can get anything out of life as long as you have that one precious gift — a belief in yourself.

Believe me, I wanted to like "The Internship." I couldn't wait for that perfect chemistry to mesh again —the quintessential bromance pairing of Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson that was so infectious in the "Wedding Crashers."

But that was eight years ago, and sadly, Vaughn and Wilson can't seem to capture the same joie de vivre. "The Internship," despite its predictable script and shameless product placement, could have been saved if the pair was able to create that spark that lit up "Crashers." Give them an A for effort, however, because they sure do try.

"The Internship" was co-written by Vaughn and Jared Stern (who also had writing credit on "The Watch" that starred Vaughn), and perhaps that's where the disconnect happens. While the duo was on equal ground in "Crashers," there's an underlying feeling, despite the co-crediting, that Vaughn's character, Billy, is at the center of this film's universe. Although the real star of the movie is the search engine that holds the distinction of being a noun and a verb. Not sure what I mean? Google it.

In "The Internship," Billy and Nick are dinosaurs: salesmen who sell high-end watches, something they are told that no one wears anymore. Even their boss' senior citizen executive assistant checks her smartphone when she's asked what time it is.

After their jobs become obsolete, Billy, while Googling the search "jobs for people who have no skills" stumbles upon a holy grail, an internship at Google. If they can get the internship, it could lead to full-time employment at the Silicon Valley land of hopes and dreams. They just have to prove it to the right people at Google, and themselves.

Slick and smooth talking, albeit absolutely ridiculous, their video interview gets them in the front door. Soon they are officially Nooglers (new to the Google fold, usually a term for a new Google employee, but here it means intern). But when all the teams are picked, no one wants two old guys, and they are also left with the misfit kids who no one else has picked either.

To say Google is presented as the Happiest Place on Earth would be an understatement. This is a place where food is free, employees play volleyball in the middle of the day, take naps in egg-shaped pods, have an on-site dry cleaning service free for employees, and where the buzzword is Googliness, a phrase that describes the corporate culture at this unbelievably perfect utopia. The word is used so many times in "The Internship" it is well on its way to becoming the basis of a new drinking game: Drink every time someone mentions Google or Googliness in "The Internship." Oh, and make it a Miller Lite since that's another product placed blatantly in the film.

This is the high-lacquered gloss that clouds everything about "The Internship." It's hard to get past this almost two hours of shameless adoration, yet even if you could wipe it away, there's a predictable script that lacks a certain – well, Googliness.

Wilson and Vaughn play characters we've seen umpteen times before. The supporting cast offer some peeks of sunshine, but are constantly fighting against the Nickelodeon-esque script.

While Vaughn and company did have an introduction to Google, much of the film itself was shot at Georgia Tech, which was recreated to play dress up as the hallowed halls of Google. Director Shawn Levy divulges in press notes that much of the re-creation was "approved by Google."

As a campaign for the behemoth engine chugging the internet forward into cyberspace "The Internship" succeeds, but as a smart funny summer comedy, it doesn't make the grade.

This film is no Google Plus. In fact, it's Google minus.

Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Comments

The views expressed are not those of this site, this station or its affiliated companies. By posting your comments you agree to accept our terms of use. WYFF News 4 offers readers the ability to comment on stories with the understanding that these comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or used on WYFF News 4 newscasts. We ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, comments that don’t relate to the story, and any personal remarks. THIS IS IMPORTANT: WYFF News 4 does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not, at times, find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. If you find a comment that is objectionable or offensive, click the flag that appears in the upper right corner when you hover over a comment. Flagged comments may be automatically hidden from comment threads. For comments to appear on the website and/or mobile app, email addresses must be verified through Disqus. We ask the community to monitor this forum with the knowledge that WYFF News 4 does not delete posts based on the content. We are glad to offer commenting on our site but we cannot be responsible for people who abuse the privilege.

For the second-straight season, SEC Champion South Carolina hauled in four of the six individual awards, adding three first-team, one second-team and one defensive team entry in the coaches’ vote for SEC awards announced by the league office today.

Hillary Clinton did not have a State Department email account while she served as America's top diplomat, a senior state department official said Monday, and instead used a personal email account during her four years on the job.